Daventry school backs community project to give helping hand to struggling families

Post-16 learners of Daventry Hill School are appealing for donations to help struggling families in the district.

PCSO Kirsten Bates and Aarron Morris visited the school after going into partnership to develop the Share and Care project.

Kirsten said: “The project was originally started on the back of me clearing out my wardrobes at home. I had numerous items of clothing that still had labels on them and wanted them to go to new homes.

"A family member had also approached me with some nearly new baby clothes and nappies and a brand new cot and asked if I could re-home them.

"I was aware of a couple of ladies who had recently left a women’s refuge along with their young children and asked if they would be able to make use of the clothing and nappies."

The women were thrilled with the donations and the project was born.

Kirsten added: "Working with the town's Community Safety Partnership team, we looked to develop the idea further and decided to set up a project.

"We asked people to donate children’s clothing so that families struggling to purchase items would gain rather than go without."

Kirsten and Aarron delivered 12 bags of pre-loved donations to the school who will treat the project as a business. Job roles have been created and assigned to each individual to highlight their skills and strengths.

Stacey Drake careers and employability lead at Daventry Hill School, said: "Everyone is very excited to work together, for our local community together we can make a difference.

"We would like to thank local business Cummins, who have kindly donated some racking to the project. This will be invaluable to keep everything stored correctly."

If you would like to support the project, learners are desperately seeking donations of washing powders, fabric conditioners, washing up liquid, and storage boxes.

Contact Stacey Drake, [email protected] Drop off points for pre-loved items include Daventry Police Station, and directly to Daventry Hill School, Ashby Road, Daventry.